Comments voiced on U.S. 69 expansion

Wednesday, April 27, 2011
KDOT representative Eric Nichol discusses the expansion concepts in Bourbon County for U.S. Highway 69 with attendees of Tuesday evening's open house, hosted by KDOT, at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the campus of Fort Scott Community College.(Michael Pommier/Tribune)

Many residents along the 12-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 69 between Fort Scott and Arma made their voices heard Tuesday evening at an open house hosted by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The event was held to seek community feedback about the expansion of U.S. Highway 69 from a two-lane road to a four-lane highway. KDOT Project Manager James Dietzel said KDOT has three options for the expansion: an expressway with at-grade intersections in half-mile or one mile intervals, a freeway in which access roads would be needed property owners to access the overpass interchanges, or an upgradeable expressway which is any variation of the expressway and the freeway with the ability to upgrade to a freeway in the future.

Dietzel said KDOT has not made a decision as to which option will be pursued. Fort Scott and Arma city officials, as well as community leaders, are leaning more toward the freeway concept, while property owners along the corridor are more keen about an expressway. He said the biggest concern for property owners has been access to the highway because several current intersections would be closed.

"We've received a lot of support for the freeway concept from local public officials and we've heard that from various community leaders ... They're asking us to construct that freeway," he said. "There's a lot of adjacent property owners that have expressed concern about access with the upgradeable expressway and freeway concepts."

The decision on which option to take will depend on the amount of funding provided through the T-WORKS program. Dietzel said the Southeast Kansas region is expected to receive $125 to $225 million in 2016. However, what is tackled it depends on how much -- if any -- is awarded to the project. An announcement is expected this year, he said. If funded, it would be at least five years before any construction begins, he noted.

According to information provided by KDOT, the estimated cost of an expressway would be between $50 and $61 million, the cost of a freeway, about $130 million, and an upgradeable expressway would range from $56.6 to $93 million.

Dietzel said KDOT hopes to have the study completed in July.

Community questions, comments and concerns will still be accepted throughout the remainder of the study. Dietzel said all comments submitted by the community will be presented in the final report.

"My hope is that anyone that had anything to say either came tonight, or will contact KDOT with what they want to say before we finish the study and move forward with some sort of decision," he said. "We want to hear what those who may be impacted have to say before we make our decision."

For questions or concerns any part of the project, contact Priscilla Petersen at (620) 431-1000, or Priscilla@ksdot.org, or Dietzel at (785) 296-3840 or JDietzel@ksdot.org. Written comments can be mailed to: Kansas Department of Transportation, Bureau of Public Involvement, Eisenhower State Office Bldg., 700 S.W. Harrison, 2nd Fl. West, Topeka, Kan., 66603-3754.